Igbo Catholics celebrate Easter as a loving family

The Holy Family Igbo Catholics in the Camden Diocese celebrated this year’s Easter with enthusiasm, hope and thoughtful optimism.
Easter is the celebration of the death and resurrection of Christ. Easter is the heart of the Christian faith in God. The Holy Family Igbo Catholics celebrated this year’s Easter with a promise to fulfill their Easter duty. As devout Catholics, the Holy Family Igbo Catholic members value their Easter duty – this was why this year’s preparation was special.
First, as a spiritual director, I arranged for a retreat to usher the Holy Family Igbo Catholics into a mood that reflects Easter. The one day retreat was preached by one of the Igbo charismatic priests from Newark. Father Kenneth Nzeh touched the lives of the attendees with biblical passages that inspired love, compassion and mercy of God in their hearts. The retreat moderator concluded the retreat with Benediction and the sacrament of reconciliation. On Easter Sunday, the Holy Family Igbo Catholics completed their Easter duty with the reception of the Holy Eucharist – the Body of the Risen Christ.
The primary accounts of the resurrection are in the Gospels. The Gospel writers used the image of the “empty tomb” to explain the resurrection of Jesus. The explanation of the emptiness of the tomb is that Jesus had been raised from the dead (Mt 28: 8). Most Christians, whether Catholics, Orthodox or Protestants, believe that the event of Jesus’ resurrection is central to their faith. Jesus’ resurrection also signifies our own resurrection as well as Jesus’ divinity. Paul said that “if Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is in vain and your faith is in vain (1 Cor. 15:14-17).
The story of the “empty tomb” made a significant impact on the resurrection debate on Jesus Christ. The women who had witnessed the death of Jesus on Friday returned to the tomb on the early morning of Easter Sunday. Mary Magdalene noticed that the stone had been removed from the tomb, and Jesus was not there. The account of the “empty tomb” has a theological impulse in the resurrection debate. For Christians, the only plausible explanation for the empty tomb was that Jesus has been raised from the dead (Mt 28:6).
The women who saw the empty tomb were delighted. They went to Jerusalem to spread the news of Jesus’ resurrection to the apostles. On their way, they met the Lord. This encounter was significant because it was from here that Jesus instructed them to tell the disciples to leave Jerusalem and to go to Galilee (Mt 28: 9-10). The inspiring incident of the account of the resurrection of Jesus was his dramatic appearances. Jesus appeared to Mary Magdalene, Peter, James and to the apostles. These appearances were significant because they reaffirmed that Jesus was alive.
On April 20, the Holy Family Igbo Catholic members reaffirmed their belief in the resurrection story of Jesus. As a community minded people, the Easter was celebrated as a loving family. The climax of the Easter celebration was exhibited in the sharing of the Agape meal. The Holy Family Igbo Catholic organizer, Lady Uche Ezeh, appealed to women to bring native food which was happily shared among those who celebrated with us. Men, through the leadership of Chief Joseph Okafor, were not left out; they brought beverages that were served. Everybody – men, women and children – went home happy. The Easter celebration reminded us of our home, which is million miles away, how each household celebrated Easter. This is why I tried to organize the Holy Family Igbo celebration so that each one of us will feel at home, where Easter is celebrated as a family.